What happened to my Coffee?

[latebloomer56]

Just off the Pearl on Friday. What have they done to my coffee? I enjoy a pleasant hot coffee but every place I went the coffee was bitter or just had NO coffee taste. Worse was the French Pressed at breakfast. This was so thick and gritty I couldn't drink it. Had them give my half a cup to add cream (not half and half) to make it drinkable this just made it cold. Gave up and asked for buffet coffee but think they just added hot water to the pressed, this made it drinkable but did leave a muddy film in the cup. Gave up and changed over to tea just for the caffeine.

Good part was not constant coffee drinking which I'm suppose to be avoiding anyway. Sad part is yet another change.

[cruiserbear55]

1 hour ago, latebloomer56 said:

Just off the Pearl on Friday. What have they done to my coffee? I enjoy a pleasant hot coffee but every place I went the coffee was bitter or just had NO coffee taste. Worse was the French Pressed at breakfast. This was so thick and gritty I couldn't drink it. Had them give my half a cup to add cream (not half and half) to make it drinkable this just made it cold. Gave up and asked for buffet coffee but think they just added hot water to the pressed, this made it drinkable but did leave a muddy film in the cup. Gave up and changed over to tea just for the caffeine.

Good part was not constant coffee drinking which I'm suppose to be avoiding anyway. Sad part is yet another change.

 

    The only coffee I found to be somewhat palatable on our Pearl cruise last November was from  the in-room single cup brewers. The buffet coffee tasted like colored water (no taste); the MDRs coffees weren't worth the trip; the French Pressed, as you said, was so thick you could paint your house with it, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't make the burnt taste in Starbuck's coffee go away.

 

[bostongal]

The coffee was awful! I had cold coffee served to me repeatedly in the dining room. I ended up drinking cappuccinos from Starbucks all week. 

[BirdTravels]

French Press,,, yum!

[Beamco]

I was on the Joy for 15 days in January and found very few issues on my return to cruising. However one big issue was how bad the coffee is now. I used to love the French Press in the Haven but it was almost undrinkable every day. At home I drink my coffee black with stevia as my sweetener so the coffee needs to be good. I switch between grinding various beans at Fresh Market and ordering a few varieties from Black Rifle Coffee. I find Starbucks to be undrinkable however it is made and I think that is what they use in the French Press in the Haven now. The only reason I wanted to get off the ship was to get a good cup of coffee!

[casofilia]

I am not a coffee aficionado and found the coffee in the Suites dining rooms (French Press at breakfast) and "regular" at lunch to be very strong and gritty.   In the evening it was really a mixed bag depending on who made, how long it had been standing and how hot it started.

 

However I had a simple coffee/hot water maker in the room and always got a similar cup of coffee from the bags provided that i found very drinkable.

[Raleigh Traveler]

Interesting with the level of opinion on coffee. We were on a 15 day in Jan-Feb on the Joy and the coffee, for us was fine. I had multiple cups in the buffet, MDR and Local for breakfast and decafe each evening after supper. One French press at a specialty venue. Enjoyed it all.

[MeHeartCruising]

This thread makes me happy that I'm not a coffee drinker.  But my Diet Coke addiction is bad and boy if the mix is not good (which is frequently the case), I'm not a happy camper.  So I can relate to you poor folks on this thread.

[Barb Nahoumi]

That's not good news about the coffee.  We'll be on the Joy this summer, and hopefully, the coffee will be decent.

[latebloomer56]

2 hours ago, cruiserbear55 said:

 

    The only coffee I found to be somewhat palatable on our Pearl cruise last November was from  the in-room single cup brewers. The buffet coffee tasted like colored water (no taste); the MDRs coffees weren't worth the trip; the French Pressed, as you said, was so thick you could paint your house with it, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't make the burnt taste in Starbuck's coffee go away.

 

Yes the three of us drank in room coffee as well. Son was sleeping in that area at 4:30-5:00 when I wanted that first cup though.

[Barb Nahoumi]

I hope that they didn'r switch to a coffee substitute, like they did during WWll.  That would be a horrible thing to do to us.

[Megamixer]

I love the different opinions on the coffee.  We just got off 19 days on the Sun and one thing I mentioned was how good the coffee was in the buffet when it was fresh.  It is quite strong but that's how we like it.  There were times when I got a cup I could tell had been sitting in the urn for a while but just went and found a cup somewhere else.  Anything is better than the Starbucks in the atrium. 

[latebloomer56]

5 hours ago, bostongal said:

The coffee was awful! I had cold coffee served to me repeatedly in the dining room. I ended up drinking cappuccinos from Starbucks all week. 

That's their plan 😁. I went without instead most days.

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

That's their plan 😁. I went without instead most days.

It's all about generating extra onboard revenue, whatever it takes. We stopped paying for coffee at Starbucks and cold brew at Dunkins - not going to do that while at sea.  My 2 cents, of course 🙊

[bostongal]

4 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

That's their plan 😁. I went without instead most days.

I know! 😲 Just one more reason for me to choose HAL for my cruises. 

 

Espresso based drinks are the only thing I will order at Starbucks. Their coffee is undrinkable. I would have loved a way to make it in room but loaded a Starbucks card ahead of time. Last morning and my 1,000 cold coffee at breakfast I skipped until home. 

[amygutman]

Happy to report that we are finishing up a 5 might Getaway and both the French Press and the "regular" coffee (a single cup from the Haven kitchen, not 'pressed' at the table) was wonderful. That being said, I like my coffee strong so I can see that it may not suit everyone. It was definitely not gritty though and sorry to hear about that on other ships. 

Warmest, Amy

[FlGoodShips]

Just off Joy for 12 days...coffee was great in Taste, Savor and Local. No issues for us.

[Greenpea2]

11 hours ago, bostongal said:

The coffee was awful! I had cold coffee served to me repeatedly in the dining room. I ended up drinking cappuccinos from Starbucks all week. 

That its exactly what I do, too. Cappuccinos or lattes. They always taste mighty fine. 🙂

[Travelling2Some]

I wish I liked Starbucks but I don't.  I love strong coffee but Starbucks just tastes burnt to me. Cruise ship coffee is one of the true negatives of cruising for me.  I just wish they would either get decent coffee or put Keurigs in the cabins.  I actually bring my own machine from home on road trips.

[mcmomny]

Saw no difference in the quality of coffee on our March Escape cruise, but did see long lines at Starbucks which I found crazy when coffee was free everywhere.

But I m not a fan of Starbucks, strong taste and expensive.

 

I will mention that on the Escape they had coffee stations set up in the morning on the The Boardwalk for those who were up early and enjoying the outside! Did have to fight the crowds at The Buffet!

 

Nice touch!

 

 

[bkrickles1]

18 minutes ago, mcmomny said:

I will mention that on the Escape they had coffee stations set up in the morning on the The Boardwalk for those who were up early and enjoying the outside! Did have to fight the crowds at The Buffet!

 

Nice touch!

 

 

Yep, on my Escape, Encore and Joy sailings there was always, I believe, 2 coffee stations set up on the Waterfront. I think they were set up by 6am and I never saw another person out there when I would go early in the morning.

Also, on Joy last summer, they had coffee and juice set up in Spice. Also by 6am, I believe.

I'd go to the gym at around 5:30am and I'd walk out to Spice when I finished at around 6:30 - 6:45am and have some oj and a coffee. Coffee was decent and the views were awesome.

Just have to keep some distance from the smokers who are always out there. Lol.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I’ve given up on cruise ship coffee 🤮.  Instead I make my own pods with our favorite Community Coffee and make coffee in the cabin.  Good coffee and my sweetie on the balcony.  What a way to start the day. 

[DCGuy64]

10 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

I wish I liked Starbucks but I don't.  I love strong coffee but Starbucks just tastes burnt to me. Cruise ship coffee is one of the true negatives of cruising for me.  I just wish they would either get decent coffee or put Keurigs in the cabins.  I actually bring my own machine from home on road trips.

Same here, I hate their burnt-tasting coffee. I thought NCL usually served Melitta, is that not still the case? It's not the best, IMHO (that would be Illy or Lavazza for me), but it's decent. I tend to prefer light- to medium-roast coffees, can't stand French press because it's always way too strong and, to me, bitter.

Edited May 1, 2023 by DCGuy64

[MagnoliaBlossom]

11 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:I just wish they would either get decent coffee or put Keurigs in the cabins.  I actually bring my own machine from home on road trips.

You can request a coffee maker for your room.  They are Hamilton Beach, I think, and use the little flat pods rather than KCups.  I make my own pods and take them with me.

[cruisinmeme]

3 hours ago, mcmomny said:

Saw no difference in the quality of coffee on our March Escape cruise, but did see long lines at Starbucks which I found crazy when coffee was free everywhere.

But I m not a fan of Starbucks, strong taste and expensive.

 

I will mention that on the Escape they had coffee stations set up in the morning on the The Boardwalk for those who were up early and enjoying the outside! Did have to fight the crowds at The Buffet!

 

Nice touch!

 

 

Pre covid we found the coffee set up on waterfront.  Our cabin was on deck 8 (breakaway)n so very confident. Was on Breakaway in January and did not see it. My daughter couldn’t drink the dining room coffee.  I made my one cup in the cabin and was plenty satisfied with it.